Saturday, November 15, 2014

4G speed test: EE has fastest downloads but Three is better for web browsing

Research from Ofcom has thrown up some interesting results when it comes to the network speeds of the UK's major players.

EE might have the faster downloads, and the most coverage, but Three offers the fastest mobile browsing experience and the lowest latency for video calls.

The regulator tested mobile coverage and quality of service from EE, O2, Three and Vodafone in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Glasgow. Around 210,000 tests of both 3G and 4G were carried out to determine exactly what each network can offer.

Need for speed

EE and O2 both offer faster than the 15.1Mbit/s average 4G download speed with 18.4Mbit/s and 15.6Mbit/s respectively. Vodafone can boast 14.3Mbit/s while Three brings up the rear with 10.7Mbit/s.

Conversely though, Three's 4G network is able to load a web page in 0.62 seconds with EE only managing it in 0.76 seconds. Vodafone and O2 were equal on 0.82 seconds.

Given its head start on rollout, EE is able to offer the highest proportion of coverage across the country, reaching 70 per cent as of October 2014. Vodafone and O2 are again tied at 51 per cent coverage, while Three doesn't even register on the chart.

The report closes with a prediction by Ofcom that 4G will be available to 98 per cent of the UK population by 2017 at the latest. You can find the full report right here.